Sen. Lippincott comments on education offend retired educator

Dear Editor:
Sen. Lippincott has written paragraph after paragraph about public education, and yet he gives no indication that he knows much about public education in his district. His articles rarely mention statistics or facts about public schools in Nebraska, let alone in the district he represents.
As a retired educator, I am offended at the broad brush stroke Sen. Lippincott uses to paint all public schools and teachers in the nation as failing and unredeemable. It seems that Sen. Lippincott enjoys swinging a baseball bat at public schools and their staff members. His articles are offensive and unfair.
The senator did mention one Nebraska fact on which I would like to expand. He stated that ACT scores have declined in Nebraska. Does Sen. Lippincott know why? Does he know that since 2017 the state has mandated that every public school give the ACT to 99 percent of its juniors? Meanwhile, the Nebraska Department of Education reports that across the nation only 36 percent of students take the ACT. Testing virtually every junior in Nebraska means a significant number of students now must take the ACT who previously had no reason to take it (not 4-year college bound). The average state score has declined; anyone could have predicted this.
The ACT requirement in Nebraska is just one example of the federal and state mandates with which schools must comply. And when intended or unintended negative consequences occur, some politicians use them as another example of how public schools are failing.
I challenge Sen. Lippincott to write fewer articles and instead put his energy into learning more about District 34 public schools and the positive steps he could take to support them.
Julie Jensen,
Aurora